Due to the pandemic, kids have really missed out on celebrating turning a year older with friends in traditional children’s party fashion. And, while weekly birthday gatherings of 30-ish hyperactive children aren’t necessarily missed by parents (!), with lockdown restrictions almost a distant memory, you can now make up for lost . If you’re looking for celebration inspiration, I’ve put together a list of birthday party ideas for kids in Bristol.
Forest School Party
For an adventurous outdoor birthday party, seek out a local Forest School. Organised activities include things like making nature art, working with woodwork tools, building dens, toasting marshmallows on the fire and cooking a pizza in local woodland…magic!
Bristol companies offering Forest School parties are:
Soft Play Party
Some parents shudder at the thought of them, others love them, either way, soft play parties an unavoidable right of passage for most carers of young children, and a great way to tire little ones out. Plus they get easier as they get older! Bristol has an abundance of fantastic soft play venues and kids’ cafes were you can host birthday parties for children.
Party equipment to hire at home
Forget giant, windowless warehouses with hundreds of kids pinging off inflatable equipment and instead re-create their beloved soft play in your own garden! Choose your package – prices range from small (£75) to large (£100), with a disco option (£135/£160) or bouncy castle (+£25).
If you have outside access to your garden, you can get involved with some splashtastic fun and hire a hot tub for your kid’s party! This company comes highly recommend via a friend of mine, who rented the hot tub for her 7 year old’s outside do in January. Particularly fun under the stars!
Available for a minimum of 4 days, be sure to check the conditions before booking.
This children’s party hire company supply pedal cars and ride-on toys for ages 2-6. Book a Dinky Delivery at home for 1-3 kids – there are three themed packages – Dinky Diner, Dinky Depot and the Outdoor Play Kit. Or, check out their ‘Parties at Home’ package for an outdoor celebration in the garden. This includes six vehicles of your choice, together with a vintage gas petrol pump, road signs and interactive props, a new outdoor teepee and a selection of costumes.
All equipment is fully cleaned and disinfected before and after delivery.
Hire ‘Outdoor Explorers Mini Kits’ (£24.50 for 3 days) – exciting role play equipment for children to engage, explore, and have fun outdoors at home, in an outdoor space, or in a wood. Choose from ‘Veterinary Centre’, ‘Supermarket’, ‘Hospital’, ‘Baby Nursery’, ‘Construction Site’, or ‘Cafe’. Perfect for little’uns, from babies through to 8 years old.
Science birthday party ideas
Sparks, slime, eruptions and rockets are the main ingredients of this fun party package. Fun Science offering small, personalised birthday celebrations with activities such as popping test tubes, themed slime-making and a rocket launch in the garden!
Choose your favoured flavour of interactive science show for your child’s birthday party – be that chemical reactions, foaming eruptions, flaming explosions, sweet-making, putty creating, rocket launches, spooky glows or rainbow bubbles.
Science Parties range start at £165 and prices are dependent on dates, themes, extras and distance from the presenter.
Sporty birthday party ideas
Active Giggles Football Parties
If your offspring have got swept up in the Euros, this’ll do nicely! Kick off birthday celebrations with Active Giggles’ Bristol football parties. All hosted by an FA qualified coach, parties are designed for children aged from 5-11 and involve exciting games, soccer skills and oodles of fun – footie fanatic or not. Bristol football parties for up to 15 kids take place at Goals Bristol South, and cost £199.
A football party for up to 15 kids includes:
- 60 minutes of football fun
- A captain armband
- A trophy for the birthday child
- Certificates and medals
- Bottled drinks
- A Mitre flare football
- Drawstring boot bags
Trampolining party at Airhop Bristol
Bounce your socks off at Airhop Bristol! Birthday parties at this ginormous indoor trampoline park include 60 minutes of jumping time, 30 minutes of party time, Dominoes pizzas and oodles of fun.
For littles ones (6 months-6 years), there are Mini Hoppers parties which involve boinging, soft play and 45 minutes in an exclusive party room with disco lights and music, snackboxes plus choice of a party mascot. My daughter had her 4th birthday party here and it was fantastic – I didn’t have to lift a finger!)
Freedog is known for its huge trampoline court, foam pits, dodgeball and slam dunk lane, but there’s also a three-storey high soft play centre onsite open to kids aged 0-10 years with a ‘Puppy Pen’ for babies.
Puppy Parties (available during toddler/family bounce sessions) are aimed at kids aged 5 years and under and include 1 hour of bouncing, a decorated party room for 45 minutes, mini pizzas, jump socks and unlimited squash (£16 per person). Minimum attendees per booking is 8 and maximum is 30.
Over 5s are considered Mega-Dogs and get pretty much the same (plus slushies) for £20 per head.
Froglets Sports host sporty birthday party packages for kids aged 2-11 years old at an outdoor venue. Choose from 3 different options to suit your budget! All parties are led by a qualified sports coach with First Aid knowledge.
Mojo Active Childrens’ parties
Choose from the following 2 activities for your kid’s party – assault course, low ropes, archery tag, climbing wall, a woodland package, assault course, zorb football and a nerf course. A 2 hour party costs £210 for up to 8 children (minimum age 7 years old, or 6 for Nerf) which includes:
Exclusive use of a cabin
Free T-Shirt for Birthday child
Tea / Coffee for parents, juice for kids
Military themed dress for the children, Camo Cream, Assault vest and Beret for Birthday Child if desired.
Kids parties at Bristol Attractions
Bristol is one of the best UK city breaks for families, and having lived in the city for many years, I’m always blown away by the brilliant Bristol attractions. Whatever interests you child has, you can pretty much guarantee there’s something to excite their curiosity in Bristol.
Under-the-sea loving fish-fanatic? Bristol Aquarium offers shark, pirate and mermaid-themed parties for 4-10 year olds with a VIP tour, fish feeding experience and a dedicated party host.
Enjoy the ultimate adrenaline-filled birthday party with Leap of Faith at Wild Place Project. Guests receive approximately one hour on the ropes course (including kit up and instruction) unlimited climbing on a dozen challenges and a go on the giant swing. If you book for 10 or more, you get free use of the heated party yurt for 30 mins afterwards.
Animal encounters birthday party ideas
VIP Animal Encounters at Avon Valley Wildlife Park
Avon Valley Adventure and Wildlife Park offers VIP animal encounters for groups of six to get up close to their choice of animal for an interactive 45-minute experience! Walk, feed and meet owls, alpacas, rabbits and guinea pigs, foxes, pigs or goats) inside their pens and where possible, take them for a stroll around the park.
You can also book Avon Valley Wildlife Park’s Play Barn for 1 hours and 30 minutes play plus 30 minutes in The Woodland Kitchen (for up to 50 people) to enjoy your party food and cake.
Alpaca Emporium in Cadbury offer alpaca walking experience vouchers which last around 1-2 hours and consist of a tour of their small-holding, meeting and feeding the alpacas and walking an alpaca of your choice. Pack a party picnic to enjoy on the farm afterwards.
Arty birthday parties
Are your offspring enthusiastic wall-scrawlers or budding Banksys?! Why not encourage them to decorate somewhere other than your walls with a Graffiti Party?
Graffarty party organisers can come to your house if you have a suitable garden area for the party, or to the venue that you have hired if there is an outdoor area (there needs to be enough space for the easels they use to do the spray painting on). They provide all the kit, including a gazebo in case it rains on the day.
Pamper birthday parties
The Nail Shed on Gloucester Road run ‘mini beauty lovers’ manicures which can be booked in individually with a maximum booking of 4 people, £16 per person.
Dreams and Themes offer themed pamper packages as well as a regular pamper party. Pop us a message.
Outdoor Cinema
If your kids have been missing the silver screen during the pandemic, bring Hollywood into your own home with Sunset Cinema Company’s ‘Kid’s party package’, complete with movie-style accessories to transform your kid’s birthday into their own exclusive magical outdoor movie premier!
The price (£200 per outdoor booking (Fri-Sun) or £180 per outdoor booking (Mon-Thu)) includes drop off, set up and collection of the Cinema Equipment:
- 3x3m Blackout Gazebo
- Moon Chairs with fluffy covers
- Hollywood-theme Scatter Cushions
- Blankets
- Ladder Shelf with Sweets Bar Sign
- Popcorn Boxes
- Traditional Pic’n’Mix Sweets Jars with tongs and Sweet Paper Bags
- Milk Bottle Drinking Glasses with Paper Straws
- Personalised Movie Ticket Sign with Stand
- Directors Clapper Board
Styled picnic parties
Sleep Under Bristol (whose gorgeous indoor sleepovers in festival-style tents I reviewed here) offers Bell tent and dome hire for beautiful outdoor party setups in your garden. Packages include lights, heating, and furniture that are all beautifully styled by organiser Heidi, according to your chosen theme. As you can see below, they look utterly stunning! Go for a cosy lantern-lit sleepover in a tent or twinkly stargazing dome to make your celebration super special.
Bunging a load of Party Rings and Wotsits in a bowl is TOTALLY acceptable, but for something out of the ordinary, how about a luxury picnic, styled and set up for you in your garden?
The Party Picnic Co deliver to your home, outdoor space or a hired location and will assemble, pack down and style an immaculately-presented, personalised dinner set-up to make your birthday party celebration extra memorable. Just let Charlotte know your theme and she’ll sort everything for you.
There are various packages available, including a collaboration with Sleep Under Bristol (above) for the ultimate in fancy al fresco dining.
Sleepover Parties
The thrill of camping (without the weather worries) mixed with magical styling, twinkly lights, midnight feasts and your best buds – these 4 indoor festival-style tent sleepover parties have got me longing to be five years old again! Utterly enchanting, they are perfect for special occasion celebrations, they are one of my favourite party ideas for kids in Bristol.
Outside party in the park
For a more budget affair, grab a gazebo, a bit of grub and create your own open air picnic celebration in one of Bristol’s many parks and open spaces.
Read more
4 Magical sleepover party ideas for kids in Bristol
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